All this immediate conjecture about Tim Leiweke’s legacy with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — more specifically, its iconic hockey team — is ridiculous, silly, stupid, whatever you want to call it.

That’s because it is far too premature.

When you scrape through all his chest-pounding, his boastful and sometimes outlandish comments, and his efforts to indeed transform Toronto into the Centre of the Hockey Universe by luring the NHL all-star game, the Winter Classic and the draft for the franchise’s 100th anniversary celebrations, Leiweke’s influence on this franchise will be most remembered for its on-ice success — or lack thereof — down the road.

In the end, we truly will not know the footprint Leiweke left on the Leafs’ topsy-turvy history until the Brendan Shanahan era has either produced heroes or zeroes.

Because, when all is said and done, Leiweke and Shanahan are joined at the hip.

Years from now — when we use wins and losses as the ultimate gauge of Shanahan’s handling of the team — the same measuring stick can be implemented to document Leiweke’s legacy as it pertains to the Leafs. And not before.

The reasoning is simple. Of all Leiweke’s Leafs-based decisions, the most impactful one wasn’t his controversial planning of a Stanley Cup parade route. Or threatening to rip down photos of former Leafs greats from the bowels of the Air Canada Centre. And no, not even his efforts to woo a Winter Classic to an expanded BMO Field.

It was the hiring of Shanahan as team president.

In just over four months on the job, Shanahan has overseen the complete overhaul of Randy Carlyle’s coaching staff, Dave Nonis’s top lieutenants, even the Leafs public relations department. In the process, he has entirely altered the philosophical direction of the franchise, hiring analytics-savvy people like assistant GM Kyle Dubas and, this week, the likes of Darryl Metcalf and Cam Charron.

While Leiweke rubber-stamped those changes, his mantra has been to pretty much give autonomy to those — like Shanahan — who run his respective teams. As such, the key off-season changes fell under the umbrella of the Shanahan-Nonis watch, not Leiweke’s.

During his previous gig in Los Angeles overseeing the Kings, he similarly allowed GM Dean Lombardi to make the important hockey-related calls, even if Leiweke himself wasn’t completely on board with all of them. Leiweke, for example, allegedly wasn’t thrilled with the hiring of Darryl Sutter as coach. Nevertheless, that was Lombardi’s choice. Two Stanley Cups later, it has proven to be the right one.

As for on-ice changes with the Leafs, the team used restraint in free agency rather than making the big splash most fans were thirsting for. While tires were kicked on Dan Boyle and calls made inquiring about the potential availability of Joe Thornton, patience and economic sensibility ruled, resulting in more modest acquisitions like Stephane Robidas, Roman Polak, Matt Frattin, Leo Komarov, Mike Santorelli, David Booth, Dan Winnik and Petri Kontiola.

Interestingly, there have been suggestions that Shanahan might be a candidate to replace Leiweke, who will move on by June 30, 2015. Let’s nip that speculation in the bud right now. Shanahan is said to have no interest in the position. So, at least for the time being, case closed.

After his controversial suggestion a year ago that pictures of alumni be taken down from the Leafs home rink, Leiweke changed his tune by approving the new Legends Row monuments, the first of which will honour the late Ted Kennedy. Good call.

Having said that, Leiweke, to this point, did not have the immediate impact on the Leafs that he did on TFC and the Raptors.

By bringing in big names like Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, Leiweke made TFC relevant again. As for the Raptors, his hiring of Masai Ujiri resulted in an immediate and highly-coveted playoff berth.

The Leafs? Their post-Olympic free-fall resulted in Shanahan’s arrival and the “culture change” that Leiweke promised.

Will it result in better times for the beleaguered franchise? Even the players aren’t sure.

“(Leiweke) came in with a lot of bold statements,” forward Joffrey Lupul said when a TV camera caught up with him on the golf course Thursday. “It’s disappointing to see him leave.”

Of course, Leiweke will be long gone when his legacy — as it relates to the Leafs — can be completely evaluated. In the end, it will be determined by how the team fares under Shanahan.

In the meantime, wonder if he’ll drive along his planned Leafs parade route when he does make his exit from the city. How ironic would that be?

Leiweke's legacy with Maple Leafs can't be determined yet

All this immediate conjecture about Tim Leiweke’s legacy with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — more specifically, its iconic hockey team — is ridiculous, silly, stupid, whatever you want to call it.

That’s because it is far too premature.

When you scrape through all his chest-pounding, his boastful and sometimes outlandish comments, and his efforts to indeed transform Toronto into the Centre of the Hockey Universe by luring the NHL all-star game, the Winter Classic and the draft for the franchise’s 100th anniversary celebrations, Leiweke’s influence on this franchise will be most remembered for its on-ice success — or lack thereof — down the road.

In the end, we truly will not know the footprint Leiweke left on the Leafs’ topsy-turvy history until the Brendan Shanahan era has either produced heroes or zeroes.

Because, when all is said and done, Leiweke and Shanahan are joined at the hip.

In a Maple Leafs dressing room too
often stuffed with inflated egos,
personal agendas and a greater concern
for personal stats rather than the
overall standings, the arrivals of
Mike Babcock and, now, Lou Lamoriello,
are a sobering reality check for all
concerned.